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Rising, Esther approached him. “Do you truly love Miss Locke?”
“I do,” Guy said, seeing no reason to deny it.
“Then you must go after her,” Esther asserted.
“It is not that simple, Sister,” he started. “She is—”
Esther spoke over him. “I don’t care about your reasons,” she said. “If you are lucky enough to find someone you want to spend the remainder of your days with, is it not worth the risk to discover if that person feels the same?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “What would I even say?” he asked. “I am not good at giving speeches.”
Esther grinned. “That is not quite true,” she teased. “You give me speeches all the time.”
He chuckled. “I meant that I am not good at declaring my love.”
His mother spoke up from her chair. “You may have to grovel.”
“I am not beneath groveling, but I am not sure if that will even be enough,” he said. “I hurt her deeply.”
Hawthorne walked over to the door and opened it. “You have the entire trip to Anmore to think on what you will say.”
“What if she refuses to even speak with me?” Guy asked.
“Then you have your answer,” Hawthorne replied.
The sun wassetting as Daphne sat in the drawing room, working on her embroidery. She was attempting to keep her mind occupied so her thoughts wouldn’t return to Mr. Stewart. She’d had the most fitful night of sleep, their last conversation together replaying in her mind.
He had lied to her, used her, but she found that she still loved him. What was wrong with her? How could she possibly go on loving him when he hadn’t been truthful with her? She needed to banish him from her thoughts and be done with it.
Tears came to her eyes at the thought of never seeing Mr. Stewart again. In a short period of time, he had become the most important person in her life.
“Am I intruding?” Phineas asked as he stepped into the drawing room.
“No, of course not.” Daphne reached up and wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek.
Phineas watched her with compassion as he came to sit across from her. “How are you faring?”
“I am well.”
“Liar,” he said lightly.
She gave him a weak smile. “I must admit that I have had better days.”
“You should know that I am leaving tomorrow to go home.”
“You are?”
Phineas nodded. “Grandmother has made it clear that she has no intention of changing her will, so there is no reason for me to tarry.”
“I shall miss you.”
He grinned. “Thank you for that, but we both know that isn’t true.”
“You have grown on me, Cousin.”
“I shall take that as a compliment.”
“It was meant as one.”
